JesĂşs Luzardoâs first season in Philadelphia didnât just go well.
It went too well â the kind of year that forces people to stop calling it a âbounce-backâ and start treating it like a transformation.
The stats alone make the case. In 2025, the left-hander posted a 3.92 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP, while logging a career-high 183.2 innings.
He missed bats at an elite level, striking out 28.5% of hitters, while keeping his walk rate at a controlled 7.5%.
Even more quietly impressive: he did it while limiting hard contact, the kind of detail that separates âgoodâ from âsustainable.â
But the most revealing part of Luzardoâs breakout wasnât the line on the stat sheet.
It was what he said afterward.
Because when Luzardo reflected on why his first year with the Phillies felt so dominant, he didnât point to luck, momentum, or even confidence.
He pointed to two pitches.
And one of them didnât even exist in his arsenal the way it does now.
The Two Pitches That Changed Luzardoâs Entire Ceiling
In a recent interview with MLB Network, Luzardo explained that the biggest difference in his 2025 season came down to his sweeper and his changeup â two pitches that became the foundation of his evolution.
âI think that adding the sweeper was extremely important for me,â Luzardo said. âIt was something that I didn’t have early in my career, and it was kind of a helper for both right-handed and left-handed batters.
The changeup came a long way throughout the year; definitely an equalizer. And just locating myself a little bit better.â
That quote carries more weight than it seems.
Because when a pitcher says a pitch is a âhelper,â theyâre not talking about a fun new toy. Theyâre talking about survival â a pitch that saves you when the lineup adjusts, when the fastball isnât enough, when hitters start sitting on patterns.
And for Luzardo, the sweeper didnât just add variety.
It added control over the at-bat.
The Sweeper: The Silent Problem Hitters Didnât See Coming
Luzardo didnât downplay how important the sweeper became â and the numbers back him up. That pitch alone held opposing hitters to a .178 batting average, with a 29.3% putout rate, turning it into a legitimate weapon instead of a show pitch.
That matters because it changes how hitters have to approach him.
A sweeper doesnât just miss bats â it changes the hitterâs eye level, their timing, their trust in what theyâre seeing. It makes the strike zone feel less predictable. It makes the at-bat feel longer than it is.
And once a hitter starts hesitating, Luzardoâs entire arsenal gets sharper.
The Changeup: The Equalizer That Made Everything Harder
The other pitch Luzardo highlighted was his changeup â and he called it what it truly became:
An equalizer.
His changeup produced a 36.2% whiff rate, which is exactly the type of number that turns a pitcher from âgood starterâ into ânightmare matchup,â especially against right-handed hitters.
Because once the changeup becomes a real threat, the fastball plays up. The breaking ball becomes more dangerous. And suddenly, hitters arenât guessing pitch type â theyâre guessing survival.
Thatâs how you get strikeouts without chaos.
Thatâs how you get dominance without noise.
The Part Nobody Talks About: Maturity
Luzardo also made it clear this wasnât just mechanical.
It was mental.
He spoke about staying steady through the season â not letting the highs inflate him or the lows bury him.
âKind of riding the highs and the lows, balancing those out and not never getting too high, never getting too low,â Luzardo said. âI think that just a little bit of maturing throughout my career has really helped me.â
Thatâs the quote that should make Phillies fans pause.
Because thatâs what turns a great stretch into a great season.
The Phillies didnât just get a talented arm.
They got a pitcher who finally sounds like he knows who he is.
J.T. Realmutoâs Role: The Hidden Advantage
Then Luzardo brought up something even more revealing â his relationship with catcher J.T. Realmuto.
And he didnât just compliment him.
He praised him like a pitcher who knows he was protected.
âI can’t speak highly enough about JT,â Luzardo said. âHe’s extremely prepared⌠He has an individualized plan for each pitcher that goes out there.â
Thatâs not generic teammate praise.
Thatâs a pitcher admitting he had a system behind him â preparation, scouting, game-planning â the kind of details that donât show up in ERA, but show up in results.
And Luzardo made it personal:
âIâm extremely happy to be his teammate⌠I look forward to doing so again in the coming year.â
So What Happens Next?
With Luzardo heading into his second season in Philadelphia, the expectations arenât quiet anymore.
If the sweeper stays sharp, if the changeup continues to evolve, and if Realmuto remains behind the plate guiding him through lineups â itâs fair to believe Luzardo can replicate 2025.
Maybe even surpass it.
But thereâs also a different feeling underneath all of this.
Because when a pitcher has a career year and then openly explains exactly how it happenedâŚ
It stops feeling like a breakout.
It starts feeling like a warning.
To the rest of the league.
And the only question left is the one that lingers after every âperfect first yearâ:
Was 2025 the peakâŚ
or was it just the first time we saw the real version of JesĂşs Luzardo?
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